In 2014, Kevin Durant played the best season of his career and was rewarded with the Kia NBA MVP award and gave arguably the most moving and inspiring acceptance speech in the history of the award. The moves the Oklahoma City Thunder have made in the 2014 NBA Draft and free agency suggest that Durant will be poised to win the award again.

This past season, he averaged 32 points and shot over 50 percent from the field, increasing his assists and rebounds from previous seasons. The bulk of his damage was done during Russell Westbrook‘s injury, which allowed Durant to take control of the team, put his foot in the ground and dominate every team he played. It was exciting to watch. He was spectacular and was given a well deserved award.

In 2015, the Thunder will rely heavily on Durant’s offensive skill set as they have added nearly no offensive pieces in free agency or the draft. Durant and Westbrook will once again be options one, two, three and four for OKC, allowing Durant to shine through and produce in a similar manner he did in the previous season.

The most recent back-t0-back winner, LeBron James, will likely be a member of the Miami Heat or Cleveland Cavaliers and will have significant help from either team. James will have backup forces such as Dwyane Wade or Kyrie Irving. This will ultimately result in lightening his load.

The pressure that Durant has on him is perhaps more prevalent than ever. With that pressure and responsibility, Durant will dominate offensively and produce similar numbers on a Thunder team that will be one year older, one year wiser and have one more year of playing together. He will shine and lead the Thunder to the one seed in the West.